Heart of Stone
by A Ghost That Nobody Sees
Summary: FIRST AU FIC! War waged against the Kingdom of Wawanakwa and the Kingdom of Pahkitew, which broke their at just made it easier for the witches and sorcerers to lead an ambush.But after a simple Wawanakwa Blacksmith goes on a dangerous quest,he soon realizes the truth that can save all realms and restore peace. But can he do it on his own? RNR! I need all the help I can get.


**Okay you guys, I'm back for another fanfiction… and hey, why not make this an AU fic? I don't know if I ever did that- nope, don't think I have. Now let me just say that this will be my one and only author's note on this story. The rest of the chapters will just be regular chapters without my own opinion. Again, thank you for your continued support, you have no idea how happy that makes me. I know I'll make improvements with my grammar so if you see any errors, let me know. Flaming is not required nor is it needed. Don't waste your time on that.**

**Somehow, I don't know where to base this story on. I wasn't really inspired by anything. It just popped into my mind. If you can relate this idea to a media you watched, by all means let me know. The only thing that doesn't make this story look Medieval is the way they speak… the language's a bit westernized so sorry about that.**

**Sadly, this is not spoken in the third person, so you will know what sort of life the main character will be going through. But just to make things interesting. Every odd numbered chapter will be in Cody's point of view, and the even numbered chapters will be in nobody's point of view, just to make things a little twisted.**

**So without further ado, I give you: Heart of Stone**

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><p><strong>THE ANNOUNCEMENT<strong>

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><p>This world was a dark and mysterious place back in the old days. There lived kingdoms and empires who took over the world. There were leaders who continued to make history and witness legends. There were those who did magic and sorcery. There were assassins serving every kingdom… some of them are even outcast assassins who never took sides with anyone. There were peasants, who were treated abusively by their masters. There were even knights who served their kingdom and fought for their people.<p>

And then there's me.

What am I? You see, I'm nothing more than a blacksmith who creates weapons for the knights. I own a weaponry shop with my brother, Harold, and my buddy, Trent. Where am I from? I'm from the Kingdom of Wawanakwa, but I live in a poor, faraway village. If I wanted to go to the kingdom, I'll have to get through many obstacles in the woods, possibly even risk my own life just by entering it. I was never brave enough to even leave my village. People told me stories and legends about knights from the other kingdom, Pahkitew, guarding the forest in search of prisoners-

Wait, I haven't told you about the two kingdoms, have I? My bad.

It all started a few years before I was born. There were two kingdoms: The Kingdom of Wawanakwa, and The Kingdom of Pahkitew. Both kingdoms were allies and together, they fought against the witches and sorcerers outside of their realm. I never understood why, but I'm guessing it must be because of their wicked supernatural abilities. But then one day, an army full of warlocks invaded the Kingdom of Pahkitew and killed more than half of its population. However, the royal family of that kingdom didn't die. Wawanakwa Kingdom knew this, but they were cowards and refused to help. Because of that, the king of Pahkitew became infuriated and broke the alliance between both kingdoms.

And just like that, war was born. And that… just made it a lot easier for the outcast tribes to take advantage of. What's worse is that during the middle of the night, where only the guards stay awake, some of our people in Wawanakwa would get abducted by the spies of Pahkitew and they would be forced to be a part of their kingdom. It continued on for several years…even after I was born. The saddest part was: They took my brother, Harold, two days after we started working in the Weaponry shop. So now, it's just me and Trent. I didn't think I could be able to sleep that night… or the next few nights after that. It was the most horrifying scene of my life.

And the good side of the kingdom is, I'm in love. I'm in love with the princess of the royal family. If you're wondering what her name is, it's Gwen. She's the youngest daughter of the Royal family, and her parents are King Duncan and Queen Courtney. The only problem is I don't know if she's an only child. I couldn't care less if she did have siblings. All I know is, I'd pick her over any other girl in my village. Sadly, she and her parents only visit our village once a month. I never talked to her before because I was shy, but when I do, I hope it'll end up in one beautiful mess.

"Cody? You're daydreaming again," Trent called, snapping me out of my fantasy. I gasped in response as I looked into the raven haired boy's eyes. "Yes, I'm awake!"

"Good to know. We have to make like ten swords for the king's men. King Duncan said they have to be light but heavily armed. It needs to inflict much more damage than a regular sword does."

"Y-yes! I'm on it." I headed to the stone table and prepared the metal. "Pass me the hammer, Trent."

"It's pretty heavy… are you sure?"

"Hey, I may be scrawny, but I've got a bit of strength left in me." I didn't want to think of it as an insult. He hesitated but handed it to me anyway. I'm not going to lie, it is really heavy. "Did father really tend to make it this heavy?" I complained as I started pounding and shaping the piece of iron into a sword.

"I don't know. That's why we're here. Our job is to make and improve weapons. Without it, our kingdom would have lost to those witches." He took the forged sword from my hands and prepared to heat it up. "So, you still crushing on Princess Gwen?"

"N-no! I'm not! I just… yes I like her," I admitted, taking another piece of iron.

"That's okay dude. Even I like her." I groaned in response. It's mad enough that Trent's the most attractive man in the village, but if he sees her, they'll get hitched for sure!

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing… it's just that you're the handsomest of us all and… I would be heartbroken if you two got together." Trent looked at me sympathetically and walked towards me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down, Cody. She can't marry peasants like us. She needs to marry someone who's also royal. They settled an arrangement to marry the princess with Prince Topher." He took the forged metal from my hands and gave me the sword I made earlier. "Here, carry this. It's not that heavy."

I took it and at the same time cringed once I felt the sword bring me down… not too much though. "It's… a little heavy…!"

"Man, you need to work out more." My friend took the 'light' sword from my hand, making me regain my posture. I winced in pain as I heard a crack on my back. "Ah… that's better."

"Wow, you sounded like an old geezer back there," Trent chuckled.

"I know… I am wimpy aren't I?"

"I wouldn't say that. Even the scrawny kids these days are strong enough to carry swords like that."

"But I'm not one of them." I looked down to my feet and crossed my arms. If I can't prove to the princess that I'm strong enough, she'll never want me. I know she'll _never_ want me but I at least want her to see me. Trent gave me a look. "Cody, you're stronger than you think, you just have to show it a little more."

"I've been showing the day I lost my brother."

"You couldn't stop crying."

"Exactly… that proves I'm not strong enough."

"You are strong, Cody. Maybe you'll get even stronger than me." He gave me another sword to take.

I scoffed. "As if that's going to happen." Trent looked at me skeptically. "Okay then, carry this sword. It's lighter than the last one you made."

I hesitated but took it anyway. I grabbed the handle while Trent held the blade. "Okay, I'll release the blade nice and easy. Prepare to hold it on your own at the count of three.

One.

Two-"

Out of the blue, the doors slammed open as our overweight friend, Owen, burst in. "Hey guys, guess what!" Trent shrieked in response as he drew back his hands, releasing the sword. To make things worse, I wasn't ready to hold it on my own yet. My body bent over as I felt the heaviness of the sword. "Are you out of your mind, Trent?" I felt my back with my hands as I gave it a push, gasping in pain as I felt it crack again. "Why was I entitled to do this?"

"No, I swear. That sword _was_ lighter than the last one!" Owen saw this and ran over towards me. "You okay little buddy?!"

"Ah… never better… Owen," I moaned painfully.

"So what's the good news?" Trent asked while helping me up.

"Oh, that's right. King Duncan and Queen Courtney are coming to our village today!" Both our eyes widened in response.

"Is Princess Gwen coming too?" I asked.

"Yes! Princess Sierra's coming as well!"

I froze at that. I looked up to my brain and started to think. _Who on earth is Princess Sierra?_

"Um, may I ask who she is?" Trent asked. Guess we both don't know who Princess Sierra is. "Oh, she's the older sister of Princess Gwen. The two don't get along very often."

"Why?" Trent asked.

"I'm guessing Princess Sierra's a bit jealous of her younger sister's beauty."

"But… we haven't even seen Princess Sierra before." Owen said nothing as he headed for the now broken door. "That I don't really know what happened. All I can say is, let's go see them!" he cheered to himself as he ran out hysterically.

"So… Princess Sierra huh? I wanna meet her," I mumbled to myself dreamily.

"That's cute, Cody, but we have work to do," Trent reminded, making me snap out of my thoughts.

"Yes! Of course!" I went over to my station and went forging.

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><p>"Everyone gather around, for the King and Queen have arrived!" Yelled the spokesman. Trumpets started playing as two carriages came travelling towards our land. Everyone from our small village left our homes and closed down our shops just to see the commotion prepared for us. Throughout my surroundings, I heard mumbling, and chattering of words I couldn't clearly hear. Trent, Owen and I just stayed quiet as a red carpet was thrown to the ground while the Royal Family walked upon it.<p>

"Attention, everyone, we have an announcement to make! The Kingdom of Pahkitew is on its way to our land and their men will be striking our village first. As a reminder, the Queen and I want everyone to evacuate to the nearest village in our kingdom. We cannot let King Shawn take away our people any longer! And furthermore, we don't want those witches or those sorcerers to claim our lives either. They will be launching another attack in less than seven days' time," stated King Duncan.

This is just insane! The Kingdom of Pahkitew has already taken a fourth of our men and women, including my brother, Harold! Isn't that a little more than enough than what they have taken from us?

"In three days, our two daughters, Sierra and Gwen, will be helping all of you escort you and your belongings to our village where you'll be safe," added Queen Courtney. "Gwen, Sierra, we need you two to help take these peasants away from here before they show up!"

Behind the King and Queen were two other girls. I drifted off into my thoughts as I saw Gwen making her way out of the carriage. Both Trent and I sighed in unison towards her beauty. The other girl next to Gwen looked like a new face to me. Her skin was lightly tanned, she oddly has purple hair that reaches past her waist, and she gave everyone a shy look, as if it was her first time leaving the castle. For some reason, I felt my heart thump more for her than for Gwen.

Could this be Princess Sierra?

"As our father said, Sierra and I will be returning here to rescue and take all of you to our kingdom. In the meantime, our Duke and Duchess: Mike and Zoey, will be helping you all to pack your things and prepare. And if any witches or sorcerers start roaming around your village, please remain calm and stay in your homes. They won't attack anything unless they see a wandering human in the street. So for your safety, please stay indoors, especially during the night," warned Princess Gwen.

Trent stared at her dreamily and leaned towards my ear. "Oh she's good. I haven't heard that voice in a long time," he whispered. I said nothing and just nodded in agreement.

"Wait!" I called out. Everyone turned to my direction. I struggled to ignore the attention and took a deep breath. "Why can't the King and Queen escort us out? Better yet, why can't we all just go now? We can get ambushed at any time you know."

The king glared and slowly walked towards me. "Well let me tell you something, peasant. We're not just worrying about this village, we're worrying about our kingdom as well. Courtney and I will remain in the castle preparing the guards. And leaving now is not a good idea because this whole announcement came out just now. So if I were you, get packing, survive like your life depends on it, and stop asking too many questions you peasant!" He gave me one last shove as I almost lost balance.

"Stop, father, that's enough!" Princess Sierra cried out. I looked up and saw her holding her father's forearm, to which he drew back in response. I saw him glare at her as he waved his cape away from us and walked towards his carriage. "Get ready! We don't want any dead peasants to work for us," he shouted once more as he went inside, with Princess Courtney following behind. In the meantime, Trent went over to Owen to debate about the King's agreement.

Before Princess Gwen could get into her carriage, I stopped her. "Hey, wait!" She turned to look at me as I bowed before her. "What? Can I help you?" she asked almost coldly.

I looked at her and stood to her height, "Whoa, calm down. I'm just paying my respect… and I also want to say hi to you so… hi."

She took a good look at me, as if she was staring at some rusty old garbage boy scavenging for food. "Yes, hello. I must go now, okay? My father's waiting for me." I desperately ran ahead and stood before her. "What are you- go away!"

"I'm really sorry okay? I'm sorry I upset your father in some way. And I just want to say thank you for wanting to escort us."

"Yeah… sure. Can I go now, or should I tell the guards to take you away?" She seemed a little freaked out, so I gave her way so she could head off to her carriage.

"I'm sorry… I'm Cody by the way." I called out.

"Yeah, hi, Cody." She didn't look back. I sighed and later called Trent. "This is Trent by the way! He works with me in the weaponry shop and we're the ones who make your weapons and armory for you."

She sighed in annoyance and slowly turned towards me. "I don't care. And what you make is for our men not for-" her voice suddenly slowed down as she looked at us… or so I thought it was us.

It was Trent.

Trent had the same look on her: a wide eyed, astounded-by-beauty kind of look. He slowly walked towards her and introduced himself. "H-hello your highness," he said as he bowed and kissed her hand politely. I wish I could have done that instead of acting like a complete lunatic. For once, I actually saw Princess Gwen _smile._ It was beautiful.

"Nice to meet you, Trent," she chuckled. For some reason, I felt nothing while the two started wooing each other. I turned my back on them and started heading off. "I'll uh leave you two alone now."

As I walked the opposite direction, I saw Princess Sierra talking to a group of children. I guess now's my chance to make a good move. I slowly inched myself towards her and looked over her shoulder to see the kids she's giggling with. "Um, hi- guh, I mean… hello your highness," I greeted shyly.

She gasped and turned her head towards mine and stood up. "Hello, there. No need to pay your respects. I just want to be spoken to like how you speak with everyone."

I blushed. There's no way a princess would ever say that… not to me especially. "Th-Thank you. I-I'm Cody… you're Princess Sierra right?"

"Indeed I am."

"Oh, right… yeah. It's funny I mean, I never heard of you before. How come King Duncan never told me about you?"

"He didn't; nobody did."

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, Cody, but I can't tell you." I gave her that adorable face that nobody can resist. She looked into my sparkling eyes and whimpered. "Oh, don't give me that look!"

I, too, started making whimpering noises. "I just want to know…"

"Okay, okay, you got me! I'll-" We both jumped and yelped as Queen Courtney yelled: "Sierra, get back inside before you hurt someone this instant!"

She looked at her mother threateningly then back at me. "I'm sorry… I have to go, I'll see you in three days! It was nice meeting you and be sure to get ready!" she said as she carried her dress slightly and ran towards her carriage. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Princess Gwen give Trent a hug before leaving. I walked a few paces and waved as the horses turned back to the castle.

"Man… my first encounter with the princess. I actually made her smile!" Trent grinned as he pumped his fist at a thirty degree angle.

"Good for you." Trent looked at me with a sorry look. "Sorry, dude… I know you liked her and-"

"Yeah, but it turns out my heart doesn't beat fast enough for her. You totally deserve her more than I do," I answered nonchalantly and with an unoffending tone.

"Really?"

"Yeah? Who don't you deserve?" I asked rhetorically. He smiled and scratched his head in response. "You're right, man."

"Alright everyone! Now's not the time to goof off; now's the time to prepare! Let's get moving!" yelled Duchess Zoey. "Come on now, people, we don't have all day!" added Mike.

I sighed. "They're right… let's go." As I turned around, a strange feeling prompted me to look below. As I looked down, I saw a small, purple sphere a few inches away from my shoe. I crouched down and shortened the distance between my hand and the sphere… or jewel. As my finger stroked it, before I could even hold it, I felt my whole body vibrate. It felt like I was being shocked lightly. I quickly drew back my hand and held it. I breathed heavily in trauma as I saw the jewel glow slightly, then it turn back to normal.

I didn't want to touch it again, but I did anyway. I quickly reached out to it and took it in my palm. The vibrating sensation didn't return. Instead, I saw memories or thoughts I never had before. It was as if a map was implanted in my brain. All of a sudden, my head started pounding. I grunted in pain and tried to hold back a cry or scream of pain.

"Cody? Cody! What's wrong?" Everything started getting all blurry, and voices are getting muffled. I felt dizzy like I wanted to vomit and pass out.

"Cody! Oh shoot, Owen help!" I heard Trent cry out one last time.

"Trent…" I mumbled blearily and gave one last breath before passing out.


End file.
